Shadowy Guardian
by Lady Selenity
Summary: AU When Netto dreams of losing Rockman again, he protects his navi the only way he knows how. He becomes one.


**Title**: Shadowy Guardian

**Author**: Lady Selenity

**Pairing**: Hints of Crushes, but no real couples besides Netto's Mom (Haruka)/Netto's Dad (Yuuichirou)

**Date Edited**: 1/1/08

**Disclaimer**: Seriously, don't own anything.

**Summary: **[AU, On Going Fic, Rockman.EXE Netto has disturbing nightmares about Rockman being deleted again. He can't find an answer, so he decides to help Rockman in the only way he knows how. Become a navi.

**Notes**: I began writing Chapter 8, and figured out, I simply hate what I wrote in the beginning, thus I'm overhauling the entire story. The plot doesn't connect where I want it to, the story itself is immature and honestly, I need to start this story all over again to recapture it. I am hesitantly saying at least one update a month. If you haven't read this before, welcome. If you have, fasten your seatbelt this story is taking a whole new turn. (Meaning, plot from before is going to change, characters might be darker, etc) I'm going at this story as a more mature person than I was in 2004. Now welcome to **Shadowy Guardian 2.0** with 100 percent more plot and better grammar and 20 percent more angst.

* * *

"I will never let you fall 

I'll stand up with you forever

I'll be there for you through it all

Even if saving you sends me to heaven"

- Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, _Your Guardian Angel_

* * *

**Shadowy Guardian **

_Beginning of the End _

He knew from the moment he opened his eyes, it wouldn't be a pleasant dream. He even knew it wouldn't be a dream at all. It was a nightmare, his own living nightmare that he had suffered through once. If he to ever go through it again, had to lose him again

Netto knew he would lose what was left of his sanity from these nightmares.

He was barely holding himself together during the daytime after seeing this, again and again every night. It was as if he was on loop and couldn't escape from this nightmare - no, memory.

Netto's head snapped up as the blank walls around him began to take shape and warp into an all too familiar setting. He viewed the screen before him emotionlessly. It was a normal NetBattle, until it went so horrifically wrong.

His heart was beating so loudly, he couldn't hear anything around him as he watched the heart-wrenching scene with his heart in his throat.

Babump

There was a light that came from out of nowhere, Netto still couldn't see the source, all he could do was watch it speed directly for Blues. He tried to move, tried to warn Rockman, tried to do SOMETHING.

But he stood there emotionless.

Babump

Rockman saw what was coming and for whom. In that split second he made a decision that Netto couldn't stop him from doing. He pushes Blues out of the way, and Netto felt a scream tearing at his throat.

But he did nothing.

Babump

The beam approaching Rockman far too fast for Netto to even let out a terrified scream. Before he knew it, Rockman was engulfed in that light. Data particles began to disperse and Rockman was losing his body.

Netto was losing his brother.

Netto was losing Saito all over again.

The data continued to disperse until there wasn't anything left of Rockman. Then and only then, did Netto feel the spell over his body break and collapsed to the ground. A blood curdling scream, the same scream that had been tearing at his throat the entire time, ripped from his lungs as he poured out of his anguish for not preventing the entire situation. It was as if he was stuck in a continuous cycle until he could fix the focal point of the entire day.

Losing Rockman.

He slammed his fist on the ground, glad to feel the throb in his hand. Masochistically, he decided he liked the pain; it allowed him to feel like he was in control. That he had some control over this entire situation.

He could feel the darkness creeping upon him, twisting and writhing for his attention. He knew it was coming for him, that it wanted him and him alone. He also acknowledged that every time the darkness crept upon him like this, it was signaling the beginning. That it was restarting.

"No!" he whispered, staring out at the darkness. He allowed his tone of voice to rise with every word until he was screaming. "I won't let this happen. Not again. I WON'T!"

The darkness rose up in response as if to swallow him whole, and right when they were about to overtake him, his eyes snapped open to see his ceiling fan systemically spinning, faintly humming.

Netto curled into a ball resolutely staring at his clock. The number 1:32 illuminated the room and casting a blue tinted on everything. He already prepared himself to stay quiet and not allow anyone to hear him. If they did they would ask unnecessary questions. Questions that he knew he couldn't answer.

Four long years has passed since Rockman had first been deleted, and Netto still could not shake the despair that had overtaken him when Rockman, bit by bit, disappeared into the net. Lost to him forever. Later he had discovered that Rockman was his elder brother's subconscious, Hikari Saito. Knowing that he had nearly lost his own brother, again, due to his own foolishness nearly killed Netto.

In that moment, Netto knew that losing his brother, his other half would surely kill him. It wouldn't just depress him; it would break his mind into tiny bits until he didn't even know who he was.

He just couldn't lose Saito, not matter what incarnation he was.

He struggled with trying to find some sort of way to protect his elder brother from the forces of a world that he couldn't even come close to touching. It was a world that was beyond his control that he hated more and more each day.

If only he could protect his brother.

If only wouldn't do anything, Netto needed to come up with a foolproof solution. And he needed one now.

A quiet voice rang through his thoughts, "Netto-kun, what are you doing up at this hour?"

Netto, startled, turned away the focus of his inner turmoil, "It's nothing Rock, just can't sleep."

It wasn't a lie, that stupid nightmare would keep him awake for the rest of the night. He knew that from experience.

Rockman eyed the lump that was the bed of his operator and brother for a moment. Netto was acting rather odd, and he had been for a while. He just wasn't his perky, hyper self, but Mom had said that's what happen when people grow up and mature, but when she said that her voice broke in the middle and she had her worried eyes resolutely following Netto as he moved. But also, it was half past one in the morning, and Netto did not like waking up early...

So he ignored that little voice that was muttering that something was wrong and murmured, "Well, good night Netto."

The voice began screaming when he got no response.

Shadowy.Guardian.

Netto never went to sleep that night, or at least again, after the nightmare. He had stayed up half the night just working out ideas onto how to help Rockman. Programs, firewalls, everything and anything he could think of, but none of it would ever work.

In passing, he had tried to throw some of his better ideas by his father, who would take him aside and point out the flaws in his ideas, but would always commend his ideas and sometimes praise him on his ingenious ideas. Netto never took any of it to heart. He still couldn't protect his brother.

Resolutely, he strolled to school a quietly worked on various ideas on the side of his notebooks. His change in personality over the past few weeks had frightened both his friends and Rockman, yet he brushed off their probing questions and slowly became a self-hermit in the class. He rarely spoke unless directly asked a question, and he was always scribbling in his notebook.

His grades never suffered, actually hey became better, so while his teachers mourned the loss of a lively student, they were surprised to see an apparent "genius" in the making.

Finally, Rockman burst with his worry, and the result wasn't pretty. "What's wrong with you Netto? You're different and you barely speak to me or any of your friends! What's wrong?" Rockman, frustrated beyond belief, yelled.

"I'm fine, alright?!" Netto called out. "I just..." he left his sentence open ended, not wanting to continue to upset his friend/brother.

"No, this isn't alright," Rockman replied, angered that his brother was shutting him out like this. He didn't know what was bothering, but he wanted to find out. "What's really wrong, Netto?"

Netto shuttered, trying to hold back his anger at himself that was about to snap at Rockman, his nearest target, "Just leave me alone!" The more this angered him; the more flashes of Rockman being deleted went through mind. No, he would find an answer.

Even if it cost him his friendship with his brother.

"Who is it, Netto?" it was more of a demand than a question.

Netto didn't want to reply. He really didn't. But then, it was his personality to be kind, to help another, to not withhold secrets, to tell people things, so he relented. "You."

And he turned and left the room.

If he had stayed a moment longer, or just looked back before leaving, he would have seen something incredible, yet so scaring to see. It would hurt anyone who saw it, and would still in the future.

Rockman cried.

Shadowy.Guardian

Dinner was quiet that night. Netto volunteered only the basic details about his day and his father has gotten back after a long and frustrating day at the office. His latest invention was giving him a rather hard time, and he had no idea where to progress. And his mother watched the two moody men, and decided to keep her own day quiet for the sake of less chance of a fight.

Yuuichirou finally broke from his solemn mood to turn to Netto with a new idea that had been brought to him. "A doctor at Sci Labs came up with this incredible theory that we could place a living person's subconscious in the Net. It would be like a Virtual World, yet there are so many repercussions from even the idea."

Netto's interest was peaked by the mere idea. If someone's subconscious could be placed in the Net while they were still alive… His mind was whirling with ideas, and he felt a grin spread across his face. "What type or repercussions, Papa?" he questioned.

Yuuichirou smiled, pleased that his son was following in his footsteps, and Haruka let a relieved smile tug at her lips. Her son was finally acting like his normal self. It was a relief for her to see him being a young child again and not a moody teenager.

"Well," the elder Hikari began, "There are numerous questions on what it would do to the human psyche, along with the body. We don't even know if a grown human is compatible with the Net."

Netto tried to refute that, "What about Saito? He was compatible with the Net!"

Yuuichirou sighed, "At the time he was a young child and his subconscious and mind were more flexible. As you age, the mind becomes more rigid. I never experimented with anyone except Saito, and I would never want to place anyone in that position again. That's why he have placed that project aside until a later date to do preliminary research on the topic itself."

Netto sunk in his seat, his idea lost because of red tape. "What was the doctor's name?" he questioned.

"Higurashi Liana," Yuuichirou replied. "A brilliant woman but she's too bound to go beyond the laws of science as we know it."

Netto nodded at his father, but his mind was off again. If only he could meet this Dr. Liana, maybe, just maybe he could see if they could finish the project.

And maybe get him one step closer to his goal.

Shadowy.Guardian

He approached Sci Labs after the half-day of school he had on Saturday. He was allowed in easily due to the well-known fact that he was Hikari Yuuichirou's son. It was far too easy to sneak in here to actually be secure, but Netto ignored this as he rapidly made his way to Dr. Liana's room.

He had to get her to help him.

And if he didn't…

Netto didn't want to think about that. He strode up to her steel door, knocked loudly and waited. And waited. And waited. He raised his hand to pound on her door, when it slid open to reveal Dr. Liana.

She was a medium tall woman with long brunette hair pulled back in braid. She wore a sterile white lab coat over a black tank top and jeans. Her eyes, were hidden by thin silver glasses, were filled with hidden passion that Netto knew was geared toward science.

She was staring at him, he knew, taking in his black cargo pants and light blue hoodie, hair haphazard hair that he had long ago given up trying to tame, and determined expression.

"Hikari Netto," she drawled out.

"Higurashi Liana," he returned.

She smirked at his tone and stance. "I like you kid. What do you want?"

Netto stared at her for a moment before replying, "Can you integrate a human subconscious into the Net."

She stood up straight from where she had been leaning against the doorframe, and grabbed his arm before dragging him into her lab. The door automatically slid shut behind him.

She eyed him before briefly giving out a bark of harsh laughter. "Yuuichirou can't keep his mouth shut around his kid. What does that theory have to do with you?"

Netto saw the deception in her eyes and glanced around the room until he came across a chair with numerous monitors around it. Liana saw where his gaze was pointed and placed herself between him and the machine. He knew it.

"I'll be your test subject."

Liana scoffed at that, "That would mean that I would have to have a running prototype first, and why would you place your life on the line? It's not like you have something worth dying for."

"I do. I have someone that I want to protect." His dark eyes honed in on hers, "And you have a prototype, right behind you."

Liana bit her lip deep in thought about the idea. He could tell she was warring with herself over the idea. But he knew she would give in. She was too prone towards science rather than human nature.

"You keep your mouth shut to that Daddy dearest of yours and no matter what happens, we are never connected to this," she finally stated.

Netto nodded, biting his cheeks to keep the twitch he knew was playing at his lips from growing into a full-blown smirk. It wouldn't do to annoy his new ally.

And that's how it all began.

- TBC

* * *

Please review so I can know what you think of rather new and hopefully SG. Flames, critiques, reviews, anything is welcome. 


End file.
